Posts Tagged ‘unique wedding’

How to Deliver a Wedding Toast

After weeks, months and sometimes years of preparation, your friend or loved one’s wedding day is here. And a wedding just wouldn’t be a wedding without a toast! If you’ve been asked to give a toast it’s quite an honor (not just anyone gets to hold that microphone), but it can be a little nerve-wracking too. Whether you’re the best man, maid of honor, father of the bride, or other honored wedding guest, here are a few tips on how to write and deliver the perfect wedding toast.

Procrastination is the First Step to Failure

The bride or groom holds you in high enough esteem to ask you to make a toast, and you need to approach this task with the same amount of seriousness. The last thing you want is to be writing your speech on a cocktail napkin five minutes before you’re supposed to speak. Write your toast at least three weeks before the wedding to give yourself time to edit your work, have others give you their suggestions, and most importantly, memorize what you’re going to say.

What Not to Say

First things first, what should you avoid saying in your toast? When writing your wedding toast it can be really tempting to bring up exes, embarrassing dating stories, or mention the fact that you never thought the bride or groom would settle down – but save that for the bachelor or bachelorette party. You may have been friends with the bride or groom since you were toddlers, but not everyone may appreciate the sense of humor the two of you share. Worse yet, the audience may laugh, but you could leave the happy couple feeling embarrassed, uncomfortable or even angry – big no-no!

Guests should never wonder if you are giving a toast or a roast. Don’t tell inside jokes in order to make just a few wedding guests laugh, and don’t say anything you wouldn’t repeat to your mother-in-law or grandmother if she were the only one in the room. If you know something is a touchy subject between the bride or groom (or possibly the bride and groom’s families) avoid these at all cost.

What to Say

Even if you think you’ve met every single person at the reception, start off by introducing yourself with a brief description of how long and in what capacity you’ve known the bride and groom. You want everyone to know why you were chosen for your role in the wedding and what gives you the authority to be toasting the couple. If you’ve been friends since grade school you might briefly explain how you met on monkey bars at the playground, but if you met in an unpleasant place or situation try to focus on your present friendship.

Next, you can share a funny story about the couple (remember to stick to humor that everyone will appreciate), what you thought when you found out they were engaged, or simply express how happy you are that they’ve tied the knot. Make sure you are toasting both the bride and groom. If you don’t know one of them very well (which is often the case), mention how much you are looking forward to the second act of your friendship with the bride or groom, complete with their new spouse. If you know both of them well enough, throw in a few words about the perfect nature of their union. ("Their mutual love for Adam Sandler movies and Marcel Proust’s late-19th century literature make them the perfect couple.")

Your speech doesn’t need to be long or overly complicated (avoid using words you wouldn’t use in your everyday life); whatever you say, say it simply and say it quickly. Two or three minutes are sufficient for a wedding toast, especially if a large number of people are planning to speak.

End on a High Note

Last but not least, use the authority that you established in the beginning of your speech to assure the new bride or groom that they have made the right choice in partnering with your friend, son or daughter. ("As Mike’s mother I can say with certainty that Angela has chosen the handsomest, funniest, and kindest man to spend the rest of her life with.") You’re basically giving their relationship two thumbs up.

Offer any advice you may have for a long, happy marriage and wish the couple a joyful future. Close your toast by thanking the couple for including you in one of the happiest days of their lives, congratulating them, and introducing the next person to speak (if you’re the last person to give your wedding toast, hand off the microphone to the DJ).

What’s My Line?

Practice, practice and more practice is the key to pulling off the perfect toast without sounding too rehearsed or letting your nerves get the best of you. Your wedding toast to the bride and groom should be sincere yet spontaneous at the same time, so leave the index cards at home. If you absolutely know you are going to forget your speech, write down the main points of your toast on a 3×5 card so you can look down every once in a while for a reminder. As long as you remember the gist of what you wanted to say, no one will know if you flub up a line or two.

Remember, your friend, family member or loved one picked you to speak at their wedding for a good reason – because they love and trust you! They don’t expect your toast to be absolutely perfect. Just speak from your heart, and let the spirit of the occasion carry the rest of the wedding toast. Avoid drinking too much alcohol prior to speaking, follow these tips and be sincere, and you will be sure to deliver a fantastic wedding toast!

http://www.PerfectWeddingGuide.com/ helps Brides and Grooms through the sometimes challenging, but always exciting process of planning a wedding and honeymoon. Any wedding planner or bride can benefit from the unique wedding guide tips, trends, and helpful wedding planning tools at PerfectWeddingGuide.com.

Article Source: ArticleSpan

Tips For Writing Your Own Unique Wedding Vows

If there is something about traditional wedding vows that do not sit well with you, then writing your own vows might be a great alternative. It could be a way for both of you to put a personal stamp on your wedding ceremony. You do not have to be a perfect writer or even hire a professional writer to write your wedding vows. You just have to find a way to express your love and commitment in your own words.

Before you start crafting your wedding vows, there are a couple of things to keep in mind. First, you need to check with the church or officiant to see if personalized vows are allowed. Once in the clear make sure that your partner-to-be is also just as willing as you are.

It’s a good idea to decide beforehand what kind of tone you would like to strike: light-hearted, romantic, religious, funny? Some couples opt to write the vows together, while others choose to keep them secret until the day. So, decide which option would work best for you both.

Once you are ready to get started, here are some wedding vow tips to keep in mind to help you put words to paper:

Timing
Keep in mind that your vows should be kept to 1 to 2 minutes each. Remember it is not a speech. Anything longer and you will lose the attention of your wedding guests.

Keep it Original
Of course it is tempting to have someone else write your vows for you, but this is something that you want to come from the heart and not from someone else’s.

Don’t Lose Yourself
Write in your own style. Don’t try to be someone you are not. If you are a natural comedian, this is not the day to try out your own stand-up comedy routine. Be yourself.

More Than One Draft
To help get over the hurdle of writing those very first words, keep in mind that your first draft might very well stink. Do not shoot for perfection on the first draft. One tip is to begin by writing whatever comes to mind or simply brainstorming some ideas to paper.

Don’t Pull an All-Nighter
You’re no longer in college, so give yourself some time. Do not attempt to write your vows in a day or the night before the wedding. At least a month or even two would be ideal.

Practice Aloud
Once you have a draft ready, practice reading aloud your vows. How do they sound? If there are moments that make you squirm, then more than likely you should make some changes. Remember try to sound as natural as possible. Have someone close to you listen to you practice, as they may be able to hear things that you might not on your own.

Commit to Memory
Since your vows will be short, memorizing what you want to say won’t be that difficult. On the day, you don’t want to be fumbling for a crumpled piece of paper. However a cheat sheet in case of an emergency is perfectly ok.

When You’re Stuck
If you have been staring at the same words for far too long and need some inspiration, try thinking about some of the following:

- What are some things that you want to promise to do while married (i.e. sharing, giving, communicative)?
- What do you love most about your partner?
- How did you know s/he was the one for you?
- What are some things you have learned from your union?
- How do you envision your future life together?

Good luck!

Simon Johnnson is the director of content for Executive Gift Shoppe. They specialize in gifts for groomsmen such as cufflinks and pocket watches.

Article Source: ArticleSpan

A Toast to Your Wedding With Wine Favors

Common wedding favors may look fancy that include little items and extra glitters that decorate and accentuate the reception venue. However, for couples that want some touch of uniqueness, fancy cute items are somehow left behind. Finding unique favors is quite a tricky idea. You might wonder where to purchase it, how will it be made, and what will be its finished look that can create a unique impression to all. It’s very cool to have a unique wedding favor that is not common with most traditional weddings, therefore to explore a creative mind can make a great difference.

You might want to consider wine wedding favors. This kind of favor is very unique because it is rarely used by most wedding ceremonies. Though it may sound doubtful, this idea can obey the thirsty throats of your guests. Wine can also show a classic and elegant appeal to the overall look of the celebration. The wedding is incomplete without finest bottles of wine. A toast of the bride and groom’s bottles of wine symbolizes a wedding tradition, and often associated with romance and commonly shared by most couples in their intimate times. Today’s couple would even likely extend it as their wedding keepsake – not a bad choice!

There’s a wide range of selection of wine keepsakes and accessories that can make a perfect match for your wine themed wedding reception. Accessories that can be incorporated with wines are wine bottle stoppers. It’s an easy job for you to locate these items using the Internet. Online stores offer a wide variety of wines, each with a different price range. And also, you can get to choose any variety of materials you want.

Apart from it, there are also wine accessories that can be personalized. This can make a more creative and unique impressive keepsake to all the guests. You can have full sized bottles of wine that have a tag with the names of the bride and groom and their wedding date printed. Or perhaps, adding a bottle to give a complete final touch. You can even add decorations to dress up the wine bottle to add accent on every reception table. Your guests will get to enjoy drinking wine at home or use the bottle for some other purpose. You might also want to consider adding your personal couple picture on the tag. Let your guests remember happy faces of you and your beloved sharing the most memorable time in your lives.

Wine favors can make great gifts for a wedding party. Obviously, creative ideas are best to incorporate in your unique keepsakes. Just be wise in working with them. You have no worries because you have been given a plethora of sources that you may use to further enhance the simple look of wine bottles. And as supposed, it has not been a surprise that this can make a great creation of wonderful wedding gifts for parents, that are surely very proud of their son and daughter, as well as to all the guests who witnessed and shared a happy moment with the couple.

Jnet is an author for a variety of lifestyle issues and topics including weddings. For more information on wine wedding favors, visit the website Americanbridal.com and browse their collection. Wine favors can also serve as wedding guest gifts!

Article Source: ArticleSpan

How Can You Deliver An Excellent Wedding Toast?

You should think about what you are going to talk about for the wedding toast if you will take part in a wedding. Since most of us are not professional presenter and it is always good to think about it and practice it first. A great wedding toast can make the guests remember the wedding for years.

Some people will be confused about wedding toast and wedding speech. In fact, the wedding speech is usually delivered by the father of the bride or the groom. On the other hand, anyone who takes part in the wedding may have a chance to deliver a wedding toast. As a matter of fact a wedding toast is usually shorter than a wedding speech.

You need to think about what you are going to say beforehand. You should be very clear what you are talking about and what you are doing. It is also good to practice it in front of a mirror. As mentioned, a wedding toast should not be very long. It will be perfect if it is only a three minutes talk.

In fact, you will need to follow some rules if you would like to follow some wedding etiquette. However, you should discuss with the bride and groom no matter you are going to follow this etiquette or not. Traditionally, the best man will give a wedding toast first. Then the groom will give one to his wife. And lastly it will be the turns of the fathers of the couple. Of course, you should only do that if you would like to follow the tradition. Some other people can also be invited to deliver a wedding toast. For example, the bride can invite her teacher when she was in the high school to deliver a wedding toast.

One of the things you may not know is that many people are trying to deliver a wedding toast without any preparation. However, it is not advisable to deliver it without preparation. You can perform a search on the web for some poems or funny things which can be used to described the couple. An interesting toast will certainly give additional touch to the wedding reception. The bride and groom will certainly thank you if you can deliver a wonderful toast.

Remember to be humorous when you are giving the wedding toast. However, no matter what you are talking about. You should never embarrass the couple. It is their big day after all!

Jerry Leung designs Double Happiness Chinese Wedding Invitations. He runs a website on Lucky Wedding Dates-2008 Chinese. Be sure to check Unique Wedding Favor Ideas.

Article Source: ArticleSpan

Tips For Your Wedding Speeches

In most cases, the closest family members or friends of the couple will have the chance to deliver wedding speeches. You will certainly need to prepare for it if you are asked to give a speech in a weeding.

In fact, it is not that easy to deliver a speech in front of so many people. And at the end of the day if you are not a professional speech giver. Are you thinking that you have nothing to say? Do you think that it will be very stressful when you are speaking in front of so many people? It is true that it can be stressful when you are speaking in front with a lot of people. However, with enough preparations, you will certainly find it a lot more easier. And below are some tips for your wedding speech.

It is suggested that your speech should not longer than four minutes. You may think that it will be a lot easier since four minutes is a short period of time. However, it is not totally true. Delivering a speech for four minutes can sometimes more difficult than delivering one for ten minutes. This is because you may not enough time to talk about every message you want to convey. You will certainly want to talk about a story of the couple. However, can you really do it in four minutes? You need to have an opening and a closing for your speech. So the fact is that you do not have four minutes for you to talk about the story.

Below is an outline you may probably want to follow when you are preparing your wedding speech.

As mentioned, you will need to have an opening. You should try to keep the opening short. One or two sentences about the couple will be good enough. For example, you may just comment on the wedding dress and suits and use it as the opening.

Then you will start the story you want to talk about. It can be something like how the bride and groom met, or how they became together. If possible, you should try to spend not more than three minutes on this part. You should try to have a sense of humor when you are talking about that. But remember there is only a thin line between being humorous and being rude.

The lastly it is the closing and toast. You will try to make it touching and brief. And normally you will only spend like 15 to 30 seconds on that.

Remember that it is your honor to have a chance to deliver a wedding speech. As a result, you should try your best to do so and try to prepare it really well.

Jerry Leung designs Red Color Personalized Wedding Invitations. He runs a website on Balloon Wedding In the Air. Be sure to check Unique Wedding Favor Ideas.

Article Source: ArticleSpan